Sky high
An UNHAS Chief Air Transport Officer’s tale of response in Mauritania
Story by Fabiana Lubetkin
The Harmattan wind, or the Doctor wind as it’s affectionately known, is reflective of the Mauritanian landscape it blows across — dry and dusty.
At times it turns the sky a hazy shade of orange as the winds whip up Saharan desert sand from the ground below, rendering the landscape moon-like. It’s within these skies that, on clearer days, the WFP-managed United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) provides weekly flights from Nouakchott to Bassikounou, Kiffa and Néma, carrying humanitarian workers and supplies to ensure that people in need in the country get the assistance and protection they need.
“Long distances, insecurity and poor road infrastructure often make UNHAS the only way for humanitarian workers and relief supplies to reach locations in the country quickly and safely,” says Martin Nseke, Chief Aviation Transport Officer in Mauritania. “Without our flights, it would take these humanitarian workers three days to reach the camp by road from Nouakchott, facing safety issues due to insecurity along the way.”
In fact, this is not such a distant memory for those who have been working in the country over the past few years. In September 2019, the Bassikounou airfield had to be closed due to runway deterioration but thanks to generous contributions from donors such as the European Union and through collaboration with the Mauritanian Government, rehabilitation work was successfully completed with the runway reopening in October 2020. Humanitarian workers are now able to reach humanitarian response sites in the region in just two and a half hours.
But what does it mean to manage an UNHAS operation? “It goes beyond establishing national and international aviation regulations,” says Martin. It means effectively meeting the needs of the humanitarian community that depends on UNHAS to reach the people in need.
Over the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the relevance of working together to support populations in need. “People are at the centre of our mission and of everything we do, so we must look after everybody. UNHAS and its users are like our second families we need to protect.”
Furthermore, UNHAS regularly launches customer feedback surveys and organize meetings with partners and donors. Martin explained that through these means, the team could better understand, meet the needs of the humanitarian community and ensure that the best service was provided. “It fills us with gratitude and happiness when user organizations express their affection and satisfaction after landing from our flights.”
The European Union’s contribution to UNHAS in Mauritania is part of a regional approach that aims to support humanitarian assistance in West and Central Africa — where conflict, displacement, natural hazards, structural poverty and chronic food insecurity, now combined with the consequences of COVID-19, continue exacerbating vulnerabilities and humanitarian needs across the region. In this context, the EU’s multi-country donation covering Mauritania, as well as Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad and Niger, contributed to the uninterrupted continuation of UNHAS. So far, more than 58,000 passengers and almost 500 metric tons of humanitarian cargo have been transported across all five countries since January 2021. Between January and December 2021, UNHAS has transported more than a thousand passengers and around four metric tons of relief items in Mauritania, serving 37 organizations among NGOs, UN agencies and diplomatic missions.
UNHAS has been operating in Mauritania since April 2012. Thanks to the generous donations of funds from Canada, the European Union, Germany, and the United States of America, the operation continues to enable access for the humanitarian community.
